1998 was the year “The Attitude Era” finally goes into full effect. A sense of change was in the air and a new era is going to take place.
Going into WWF’s biggest show of the year, WrestleMania 14, WWF was stepping into the spotlight of the mainstream media. WWF had hired the self-proclaimed “Baddest Man on the Planet,” “Iron” Mike Tyson to be the special enforcer for the WWF Championship match between “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels.
At the time, WrestleMania 14 was the biggest WrestleMania of all time. Having the “Baddest Man on the Planet” Mike Tyson face to face with the anti-authority, loose cannon “Stone Cold” made Monday Night Raw became must see television.
“Stone Cold” eventually beat Shawn Michaels and won the WWF Championship at WrestleMania 14, ushering in a new era and becoming the top guy of the company.
“Stone Cold” went on to face all challengers and feud with the Chairman of WWF/E, Vince McMahon. Cementing himself as the top wrestler of the company.
However, would “Stone Cold” be who he became without getting fired from WCW in 1994? Would he have become “Stone Cold” without going to ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling)?
This is said because when Steve Austin first came to the WWF in 1996, he came in as “The RingMaster.” Steve Austin at the time was one of the best wrestlers in the world and was fully able to tell his story in the ring and vocally. Yet, the WWF regressed and knocked Steve Austin down a level.
There is no doubting the impact “Stone Cold” had on professional wrestling business. He was the anti-hero of the WWF and led the charge against WCW during the Monday Night War.
With that charge, came support from the new stars that was on the horizon. Triple H is on his own now leading DX after Shawn Michaels “retired” from professional wrestling. Triple H was able form a stronger DX bringing in Road Dogg, Billy Gunn and X-Pac. Triple H was able to make himself prevalent and a main event star.
Another star on the rise came “The Rock.” Formally Rocky Maivia, “The Rock” was a third-generation superstar who truly found who he wanted to be during this era. “The Rock” went from being a smiling, good guy, ordinary wrestler to becoming “The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment.”
1998 became a year where new stars became prevalent. Storylines and rivalries became more controversial and outlandish. Wrestler’s character personas became more complex.
However, are making the portrayal of these types of storylines too unrealistic? Understanding that the WWF is built off of sports entertainment, the company at this time was trying to be more relatable with the common audience. However, are the stories too outlandish? Like kidnapping, holding someone hostage and threatening to shoot someone?
WWF/E states do not try this at home during their broadcasts. When, you have characters that resemble closely to who the audience is trying to connect to, they will feel that they can do exactly what they do on television.
During the 1998 year, there were rivalries and storylines that created some of the best matches in the year. However during the year, most of those rivalries connected in some form to the rivalry between Vince McMahon and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Having an active full time wrestler feuding with a non-wrestler defeats the purpose of wrestling.
Yes, Vince’s character hired henchmen to have matches with “Stone Cold.” However if Vince is the boss, why not fire “Stone Cold?”
Wrestling should not be something that should be thought of too much. However, logic holes became clear when going back watching episodes of Monday Night Raw and old pay-per-views.
David Jacobus
Intern